Europe

Sunday 5th April 2026 – a lazy Easter Sunday with a bonus bit of Beaver watching….

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Much the same as yesterday we spent a glorious few hours on the beach….

On the last photo you can see Phare de Camarat perched on top of the headland. Today we tried to negotiate our way around the various vineyards in an attempt to walk up to Ramatuelle but without much success as we kept ending up back on the road network which was too busy and without pavements to venture any further, so instead we took a walk along the now quieter beach (not that it was ever busy busy at this end) and were rewarded with a sighting of our Beaver friend from the other day…

He was quite content snacking or having a good wash maybe in the early evening sun.

Thoughts of the day:

  • I have to admit to enjoying this much slower pace of life and have decided that whenever I find a good location and the weather is kind then we shall slow down.
  • This is such a busy stretch of coastline that I suspect coastal retreats such as this will probably (and indeed I have looked) be few and far between and certainly the next few stops look like they may well need to be further in land.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 1
  • O/N – £20

Saturday 4th April 2026 – a walk up to the Phare du Camarat….

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At the risk of sounding a little boring, it was yet another beautiful day here by Plage de Pampelonne….

All the big guns were out to play over the Easter weekend with various gin palaces arriving in the bay and shuttling over to the rather expensive and in some cases quite elitist beach restaurants and bars (though we are at the quieter end of the beach) and plenty of other craft scudding across the bay. I haven’t seen many people braving the rather chilly waters just plenty of paddlers like me and I’m not sure how good these waters are for swimming as the beach seems to shelve quite dramatically. Anyhow we spent a pleasant few hours on the beach just watching and in Tilly’s case, collecting driftwood and creating a little burrow to lie in, enjoying the cooler sand underneath, before returning to the van for something to eat and then heading back out in the cooler late afternoon sunshine for a walk up to Phare de Camarat….

It was a pleasant walk up a mostly leafy lane, having initially walked around the edge of rows and rows of vines….

It was lovely to be walking and surrounded by wild french lavender, though surprisingly not as fragrant as I would have expected….

Just beyond the lighthouse was a viewing point affording spectacular birdseye view of Bonne Terrasse and Plage de Camarat and then beyond to Plage de Pampelonne with snow capped mountains in the far distance – a truly beautiful and peaceful walk….

Today’s stats;

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £20

Friday 3rd April 2026 – a lazy day on Plage de Pampelonne…

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Another cracking day, may even have hit 20 + degrees – not too hot but very agreeable! Even did some hand washing which dried beautifully outside – I could quite get used to this life and it would certainly be too hot to be travelling from place to place.

We did venture out for a bit of a walk to one of the holiday resorts about a mile further down the beach which had a very well stocked supermarket for a few essential supplies – ie cold drinks! But mostly just enjoyed the beach, finding a nice quiet spot (I think actually on the naturist section which is near to where the Aire is) and Tilly was quiet content collecting bits of driftwood and occasionally wanting them thrown.

As the sun was setting we ventured out some more and after an unsuccessful visit to the stream to spot any wildlife – just a couple of ducks….

we headed down for an evening stroll along the beach…

Almost deserted apart from a couple of fishermen.

Wandering back around the Aire to see if there are any other Brits around – there aren’t….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 1
  • O/N – £20

Thursday 2nd April 2026 – just a stroll along Plage de Pampelonne…

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Another beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and temperatures in the late teens (perfect) and as we have decided to stay put over the Easter weekend to avoid any Easter traffic and also the uncertainty of finding somewhere else suitable and safe to park, we spent the morning doing adminny things and then set out for a beach walk in the afternoon….

Today we ventured along the beach heading eastwards….

Noticing that the beach bars that appear intermittently along the beach are all gradually opening up….

Not particularly my thing, especially travelling solo and also not within my budget which is already under strain from the increased over night coasts on this stretch of coastline and the increased fuel costs, but looking very inviting none the less.

Beach walking is fairly heavy going as there is no firm sand to walk along as the Med doesn’t appear to be very tidal so we took respite where we could on the slightly more built up areas offering boardwalks. Strangely there doesn’t appear to be any focal town or village along the beach just stretches of holiday villages (and bars) interspersed with stretches of natural scrubland or private gardens. Some of the bars / restaurants appear to be very exclusive and in the case of Club 55 we witnessed queues of very expensive cars arriving and waiting for valet parking and to say we would have been underdressed is putting it mildly – clearly a go to destination from the likes of St Tropez etc.

Not to worry we are quite happy to lower the tone and sit on the beach and drink from our coffee flask and in Tilly’s case, water bottle and consume our own snacks! All the while with the enviable back drop of Monaco and the snow capped Dolomites….

A lovely place and a lovely lazy day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 7
  • O/N – £20

Wednesday 1st April 2026 – from Le Lanvandou to Ramatuelle Plage…

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Having found an Aire a little further westwards along the coast, we have decided to move on today ahead of the hike in price from 22 euros a night to 26 from tonight. We topped up with water and emptied balck and grey waste before getting on the road. We have opted to follow the coastal road as much as possible and got the opportunity to pull over above Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer and take a photo looking over the resort and back along the coastline…

There followed a rather dramatic drive up and over lush tree covered hills and through vine filled valleys with switchbacks a plenty until we made our final decline through the small town of Ramatuelle – which looked absolutely stunning but was not overly campervan friendly parking wise, so unfortunately we couldn’t stop for a wander. The road finally wound through vine filled flat lands until we reached the coast – still within the area of Ramatuelle and our Aire.

After getting ourselves pitched and settled, we walked the short distance to Plage les Bambou (actually part of the long Plage de Pampelonne) and wow what a treat…

Feeling the need for a bit more of a walk, we headed east and up and over the next headland down into the small resort of Bonne Terrasse to the small Plage de Camarat….

We attempted to continue up over the next headland but about half way up the coastal path just became a scramble over the rock face so we decided to turn back as it felt unwise to continue….

Returning to our starting point we continued a little further west joining the Plage de Pampelonne just beyond the Aire…

In the distance we could see the pink rock of Monaco with the snow capped Dolomites in the background….

On our return to the Aire, we crossed over a bridge over a small brook leading out to the sea…

After we had had our tea the beautiful sunshine tempted us back out again for a short wander and I am so pleased we did as down by the brook was a family of wild boars snuffling in amongst the bamboo roots at the waters edge….

And lo and behold on the other side of the bridge a beaver just loitering in the evening sun….

How magical?

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 21
  • Miles walked – 5.5
  • Beaches – 3
  • O/N – £11.37